Oscar W. Doward

Determining if the Actions of African American Combat Forces During World War I Positively Affected the Employment of African American Combat Soldiers During World War II Oscar W. Doward

The purpose of this thesis is to examine if the United States government considered the voluntary services of World War I African American combat soldiers during the interwar years and determined them to be combat multipliers for future conflicts. The research identified trends of African American service from the Revolutionary War through their actions along the Mexican border during the first decade of the twentieth century. Recruitment, assessment, and induction practices of the War Department in its preparation for the Great War, while critiquing the impact of Jim Crow practices on this process of African American troop force generation were explored. Included are the efforts of civil rights organizations, civil rights leaders, statesmen, soldiers, and the media (national and international) to influence African American combat participation either positively or negatively. The research determined that in World War I the African American combat soldiers' experiences did not significantly change the segregated employment practices of World War II; however, there were shifts in training opportunities and leadership positions. Civilian activists used documented sources of combat utilization during the Great War to reinforce their positions for increased African American combat employment during World War II. These changes were made via civilian-military relations between members of Congress, the War Department, African American/mainstream media, and leaders of organizations for social change.